D’Andre Hill

Honors 205

Schur

Theory

The way that an individual sees themselves, others, and the world around them, is all

based on a string of cognitive ideas and assumptions. These strings of cognitive ideas and

assumptions become the lense through which said individual filters their view of the world,

constructing their own perception of the world in the process. This carefully constructed world

view that one has crafted is the theory, or collection of acquired theories which one chooses to

subscribe to during their lifetime. This rolodex of theories then governs their actions throughout

the rest of their lives. Essentially, there is a theory for everything in this life including but not

limited to sexuality, religion, and comedy, covering areas both major and minute. Each theory

either acts as a means of describing or predicting outcomes, the results of actions carried out

based upon theories, further developing the carefully crafted perception of the world one has

created.

Thinking closely about one’s own livelihood, experiences, and personal upbringing, it

becomes possible to try and identify the various theories that have developed one’s worldview. It

might even be possible to ascertain what different influences make up each subscribed theory.

For an example, we will take a look at the theory of morality in humans. This theory describes

the idea that each individual has an internal compass developed by personal teachings, religious

beliefs, peer influence and societal environment, allowing one to categorize actions as either
right or wrong. The result of this theory is that as one grows and develops throughout their

lifetime, their actions will be modeled after one’s ideal of what it means to either be a moral or

immoral human being.

One might also look at sex and sexuality for another example of theory at play. This

theory discusses the biological design for the reproduction as well as the type of chemical

responses elicited as a result of engaging in reproductive activity. This would explain the

pleasures humans experience through sexual intercourse, what biologically causes these

pleasures, and why exactly it is that they occur. In looking at the theory of human sexuality, we

explore many various ideas. This theory discusses the idea of human identity and attraction to a

mate that might physically resemble the suitor. Much like the theory of morality, the result of

this theory also governs the lives of individuals, invoking certain courses of action during

behavioral processes such as mate selection and sexual intercourse.

As previously mentioned, descriptive theories act as a means of describing the results of

actions carried out based upon theory. These theories explain the intricate workings of one’s

ideas and assumptions, including a detailed description of the results of one’s action and a

breakdown of why said results might have occurred. We can return to the example of the theory

of morality. This theory describes what the human moral compass is, how this compass is

developed, why humans have it, and what it is used for, as well as how it further directs their

actions. Descriptive theories are about discussing what has happened and why, referring only to

the past.

In short, we will think of descriptive theory as an amalgam of summarization and

analysis, something akin to the “what is the author’s purpose?” questions found on standardized

tests. Descriptive theory briefly summarizes an event or action, then breaks down what happened
and why through in-depth analysis. Descriptive theory can also be seen in the showcases of new

scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs to the general populace. These initial

reveals to the general public describes what the discovery is, what the discovery means in

context, and how said discovery came to be.

Inversely, prescriptive theories act as a means of predicting the results of actions carried

out based upon theory. These theories explain the intricacy of the results received after carrying

out actions that have been based upon theory. This means that, in essence, prescriptive theory is

about predicting the future and what will happen in the future. These theories are based on

previous observable, measurable data. Take the theory of gravity for example, it predicts that

anything that and everything is affected by gravity, meaning that anything thrown up must come

back down. Prescriptive theory discusses the future, results, conclusions drawn from what will

happen.

In short, think of prescriptive theory as catching a glimpse into the future, or being able to

make an extremely educated guess about the future. Essentially you know what will happen in a

situation based on a series of differing variables and factors. Prescriptive theory is formulaic,

tried and true, able to withstand the tests of time. Pythagorean’s theorem has not changed

throughout all these years, it has stayed the same and we know that it will continue to provide us

with certain calculations based on our set variables. Prescriptive theory operates in exactly the

very same way, following the exact same kind of concept. We think of prescriptive theory kind

of like a formula, plugging in a number of variables and factors in order to achieve an expected

outcome.

With various theories governing our actions, we venture out into the world. Our pre-

established and carefully constructed world view has been developing over time. Being crafted
by a single theory, or collection of acquired theories which one chooses to subscribe to during

their lifetime. We explore and challenge our theories, which in turn challenges the constructed

reality of the world that we experience. We constantly try to predict the series of actions that we

experience and then attempt to describe these experiences to other people.